Page 50 of Keeper of the Word (The Unsung and the Wolf Duology #2)

Chapter

Forty-Five

ELANNA

T he last blocks Hux had led them through turned Elanna cold. The darkness she’d professed to appreciate wrapped around them as they marched through the twisted alleys.

Cracks. The word cycled through her mind.

’Twas at a wooden door, worn and shoulder level with Elanna, that Hux finally halted.

Joss held up the torch she carried. The door was stained a dark color, or had been at one time.

Chipped coats layering over chipped coats ran across the splintered wood.

But one element gave away whose domicile this was.

A singular grey circle painted in the middle.

Tara and Elanna exchanged glances.

Knock, knock.

No answer. No sound from within.

It had to be tonight. She’d Seen the witch. ’Twas their fortune to meet this eve.

They knocked again. Nothing.

“She’s not there,” a voice came from behind them.

At the end of the alleyway, a squat figure stood in a black cloak.

“And looking at you lot, ’tis probably for the best. ”

“We need to find her immediately,” Tara said, her voice already raised.

The woman pointed a finger at them. “You do not belong here. You should leave before something terrible happens.”

“Mayhap you should help us before something terrible happens,” Joss said.

Crack. This time ’twas not Elanna’s thought, nor was it in her ears. The sound reverberated through her. They needed to find that witch.

“Joss!” Elanna exclaimed before sighing and turning back to the stranger. “When will she return? ’Tis the utmost importance that we find her this night.”

“Why this night?” Then the figure laughed before seizing into a fit of coughs. “’Tis the half-moon. You must be indeed desperate.”

Elanna stepped forward; the woman retreated like a skittish hoshefer. “Do not come near me, StarSeer. We aren’t meant to meet.”

Elanna paused. “How do you know who I am?”

“You think there would be only one?” She pointed toward the door.

Elanna took a breath, searching the sky for help. “You are a scryer?” ’Twas a term that had been used in another age. Long ago, before the banishment of the witches.

The woman was a great deal shorter than Elanna. Closer, her pale skin emulated weathered parchment. Her sharp chin jutted out from the shadow of her hood. It tilted upward at Elanna’s words.

“No one uses that word anymore. We’re scorned. Or worse. My sister was hanged a fortnight ago.”

“Where?”

“Here, of course. In this pristine, shimmering place.” Her laughter broke into a cough again.

“Hangings are forbidden.”

“That so? Should have told the Sidra soldiers who ransacked this place.” Her chuckle made Elanna’s skin crawl. “There’s to be worse. You mark my words when you return to the castle. ”

Elanna’s brows drew together in confusion. But there was too much else to worry about now.

Tara came to stand beside them. “I meant no offense, but we are here on a grave and consequential errand.”

“I have scried your coming here. But we are not meant to meet. And I cannot help you. Besides, she’s dead.” Her hood inclined toward the door.

They gazed back at the lonely door in the alleyway. “She was the one who was hanged?”

She did not answer. “’Tis ill fortune you are here. I can feel the shades of night tremble. Surely you can feel the same in your stars.”

“The stars commanded us here.”

“To perform Shroud Magic?” She coughed again in an attempt to laugh.

“Aye. Might you perform it?”

“Not anymore. I am a witch no longer.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why would a witch be living in Asalle and not the mountains? I have been banished from the coven. E’er since the leader, Jordain, decided to side with usurpers.”

“What usurpers?”

“I know not who they are. But you have greater troubles than a rogue prince. We came down from the mountains and met with a man who called himself the Fox. An idiotic name. I ne’er observed anything fox-like about him but his sly, toothy smile, which was slicked with the traces of Adrienne.”

Tara grimaced, and Elanna stumbled back at the word.

The woman snickered and removed her hood. Underneath, one eye was milky white, and Elanna wondered if she could see through it. The other eye was as black as oil with no whites at all. Yet, a second later, ’twas only the pupil that was black; the iris turned hazel.

Her cunning smile cut at them, visibly pleased by their uncomfortable reaction .

Elanna regained herself. “If you are not a witch any longer, how is it that you are still scrying?”

“I was. No longer. My orb was smashed a week ago during a burglary in my rooms. I have no power without it since I no longer have a coven.” The witch scanned the surroundings.

“’Tis not safe for me to speak to you. We had been left in peace until my sister spotted you in the square.

” Her eye flashed solid black once more.

A wash of guilt flooded Elanna, even though she knew this hanging was not her fault.

“I am sorry about your sister,” Tara said. “We understand what it is like to be bound by sisterhood and lose a sister.” She glanced at Elanna. “Is there no other way?”

“Another way? Even if I had an orb, I would not aid you . I have lost everything.”

“But—”

“I care not for this realm, StarSeer. I only wish to stay out of what comes.”

“Did she have an orb?” Hux said, coming to stand beside Elanna.

A crash a block away made everyone tense. The witch flashed another glare. “’Tis there.” She nodded at the door. “But ’tis guarded with a protective ward.”

“Cannot you open it?” Joss asked.

“Daft or dumb, you must be. Did you not hear me? If I have no orb, I have no power.”

The door was inspected. Despite the witch’s words, Goodsell and Kennel, one of his knights, both attempted to pry it open with the sword Goodsell carried. The only thing that happened was that the steel bent into a ninety-degree angle.

“Stars,” Barrett uttered.

The witch’s laugh-cough caused her to hack up something. “This is more entertainment than I’ve had in years.”

Another racket sounded.

“I must go. Her wards hold strong. None may enter but those who’ve committed true wrong.”

“What does that mean?” Joss asked. “True wrong?’ ”

The witch appeared only too glad to explain.

“It means someone who is a true villain. Someone who has committed at least three acts treacherous and terrible. Treason. Thievery. Murder. Kidnapping. Master deception. You have the idea. Terrible.” Her laugh was low.

“Can any of you virtuous souls claim that? You may think what you like, but I cannot.” She wiped the spittle from her chin onto her sleeve.

She shifted back into the shadows of the alley from where she’d come.

“Wait!” Elanna shouted. She gathered her skirts and dashed after her. “Wait!”

Tara exclaimed after Elanna; she called for the others to remain where they were.

Around the corner, the witch stood in the darkness. There was no torchlight nearby, and the only detail Elanna could make out was her clouded eye.

Stars, help me.

“Why did you not side with your coven?”

She gave no answer.

“Witches weren’t always thus. I have read the histories.

Scryers or Shroud witches, they were called during the era of the Night Caller, but ’twas not the same.

They weren’t evil. They were not consumed with the Curse.

They and the StarSeers had a council. The Night Council.

That banishment to the Skyward Mountains was a century ago. You’re misunderstood, Mistress…?”

The witch gave a low hmph. “Gethwin. I’m called Gethwin.”

“Gethwin, if you care not for the realm, why are you not with your coven?”

The witch coughed until she was hunched over, fighting for breath.

“Your cough. What ails you?”

Gethwin raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting Elanna’s words. “I was cursed by my coven when I left. ’Tis the Fachna. I’ll be gone by the Prodigal Full Moon.”

“Is it true what legends say? Are witches afraid of death?”

“ Hmph. Afraid? Nay, but there is no afterworld in the stars for us. The end of this life is the end. Turn into shadows, some say. Some say the roots of vile plants. Beetles who burrow underground. ’Tis why witches live so long. They will it thus so as to not find out.”

Elanna nodded along; comprehension clicked into place. “Fachna is only cured with nyxpaun herb, correct?”

“Impossible to find.”

“Not so impossible.” Elanna held up the leather pouch of the dried, crushed plant she’d brought from Ashwin, never understanding the purpose. The pouch, which she’d tucked into her cloak tonight for no apparent reason. “Help us. And I shall give you this.”

The white eye drew to Elanna’s hand. “Even if I say I shall help, ’twill not matter. I still need an orb, and you have no one who can collect it.”